The Spirit Orbs of Master Tigress
by Gothic Thorn
Summary: An alternate ending for "The Spirit Orbs of Master Ding." Tigress and Po discover something in the manifestation of his mind that just might reveal how he really feels. What could this mean for their relationship? A Tipo one-shot.


"I don't suppose that's how I have to leave?" Tigress asked.

"No, no. Heh. You can use that door." Po imagined the wooden door framed by black brick. Now that Master Ding had left, and the threat averted, Po had to admit it was rather awkward having someone else here. Yet it was still amazing to see his mind as a manifestation like this... It all appeared so simple, the occasional flying dumpling and piece of furniture. Things had cleared for the focus of the battle, but now some things were returning as Po watched Tigress touch his shoulder and prepare to leave. Something must have caught her eye then.

"What's that?" she muttered and walked away from the door.

Po apprehensively followed her steps into the distance. Tigress must have seen something before Po knew about it, because Po had no idea he was thinking of anything so worthy of her attention.

Tigress gave a small gasp, and Po's sense of foreboding was confirmed. Among the floating furniture and bits of food was an unmoving red dresser. Instead of a mirror lay a giant painting of Tigress on its backing. The top held candles, hearts, smaller paintings, and moving memories of their shared moments. A shrine. And Po didn't even know that was in there.

A light blush spread across Tigress's cheeks.

Or maybe he had known...

"I-I didn't knowthatwasthere." Po rushed out, bumping into a floating bed.

"Oh, ah, don't worry."

"You know how when someone's in your mind, you can't stop yourself from thinking of things you wouldn't want them to see? Right? Like if Monkey was in here I'd think of all the times I stole his cookies? Ever happened to you?"

Tigress just stared at the shrine.

"No, wait! Not like that, because I _have_ stolen Monkey's cookies. This _isn't_ like that because—"

"It isn't?" Tigress turned around, seeming alarmed.

_That expression_... Po thought, _...would she be_ hurt _if I didn't feel that way?_

"Tigress, wait, I-I don't know. I can't really think with you here." He sat on a chair that appeared beneath him automatically.

"You know how that sounds right?" Tigress gave one of her rare smiles and sat in the chair spontaneously placed behind her.

"Well..." Po began, hoping that Tigress knew he was figuring everything out as he was telling her things. "I guess... the reason I've been so gloaty-showboaty lately—sorry about that—"

"It's fine."

"...is because I admire you so much... I mean your iron-tree punching stories, and all your other advice. I mean I've said it before but getting to be in the Jade Palace is being with my heroes everyday. You were my idol before I even met you! And now that I have met you—now that I _know_ you, you've become my hero in a different way. For more than your Kung Fu. So, I guess all my training lately has been so I could be closer to you." Po quickly corrected, "I mean closer to your level. Not _you_, exactly."

"Po..." Tigress threatened. She, unlike Po, had noticed their chairs had transformed into a sofa for them to share.

"Okay, fine! Maybe just a little tiny eensy bit of being close to you for the sake of you, you."

"Thank you for telling me, Po." Tigress stood up and smoothed her clothes with her paws.

"It's not like I had a choice in the end really." Po followed her and the sofa disappeared behind him. In fact all was clear again except for the door.

"Well, see you around, Po." Tigress escaped into the bright white light, which meant for Po, unless he put all his energy into daydreaming wouldn't be able to see the manifestation of his mind again without a visitor.

Po gave some exasperated groans and he felt the real world unfold around him. "Closer to you? Augh! Come on, Po!"

"Po, are you going to help me keep this a secret or not?" Tigress had been right next to him, putting the mediation orbs back in the cabinet. Po gave a nervous laugh and Tigress shut the cabinet. But of course Master Shifu had noticed the silver-painted lychee nuts, and busted them after all.

As a toddler Po had bumped into strangers thinking they were his dad. As a child Po had given a flower Mai, a girl who often came to the noodle shop. He then had to encounter her each day after the rejection until her parents finally stopped coming in for noodles. But all of the moments he had once defined as awkward situations put together would not have come close to what Po now had to face: having to do nonstop chores with the girl he had more-or-less admitted to liking when she sat inside his mind.

As they scrubbed the palace floor, there was more than just silence. It was the silence that should have been filled with mindless chatter, or being lost in thought. Instead every second of silence was _felt._ Attention couldn't be turned away from it.

The worst of it was the fact that Po really needed to become lost in thought right then. He simply had no idea a shrine of Tigress had been in his mind. How can a shrine full of red hearts not be built knowingly? Po had to have known... he must have built the shine not knowing it was a red heart shrine. He must have built it simply through plain admiration. Po certainly admired Tigress. Not just for her Kung Fu, but for her patience, determination, and focus. Even her lack of humour could even seem charming at times.

But that was how he'd always seen Tigress, really. Maybe? Did he see Tigress any other way? Po snuck a glance at her as they worked. He felt the awkward silence less and less, but now trying to look at Tigress without her noticing made things feel heated.

As she worked on her hands and knees, scrubbing Po noticed how her legs looked so limbre and agile underneath the silky curve of her black pants. Her red shirt was undoubtedly hugging a six-pack of abs. Her body was so powerful, yet so defined—

Tigress's orange eyes shot back at Po, who immediately looked back at the floor he was scrubbing.

Though out of the corner of his eye Po could have sworn Tigress was smirking.

Po couldn't help but look back a few more times. He tried to memorize her slender figure when looking away, but it always seemed to newly astonish him when comparing the real to the remembered image.

He loved the point in her tail that left the orange for pure black and white stripes. His eyes felt drawn to her thin waist, her powerful shoulders that moved effortlessly as she scrubbed, and of course the beautiful markings that surrounded her eyes.

Then something wonderful happened. As Po went in for another quick glance Tigress was already looking at him. She immediately dropped her eyes, but a smile shared by both proved the damage was done.

Then it became a dance. Not of trying to sneak in glances, but trying to catch the other's moment of choice for a split second of dazzling eye contact.

Then came the point at which Po threw a drying rag back in the water close to Tigress, splashing her. She playful said, "Hey watch it!" and splashed Po back. He splashed her again, and she threw her rag at his arm. Then came the chasing, the laughing, and of course the moment Tigress slipped on suds and Po caught her.

They froze for a moment as each caught their breath from running.

"Po." Tigress whispered.

He set her back on her feet.

"Tigress, I think I'm beginning to understand—"

She cut him off, "I'm not upset by it. I think... I understand too..." she placed her paw on Po's so their palms were touching. Her eyes twinkled at him.

Po looked back at Tigress, then at their hands. "Whoa," he whispered. Instincts told him this was the time for them to kiss, but as he barely leaned in Tigress took her hand away and stepped back.

"Hey, whoa. Not there yet." She protectively put her hands in front of her face.

"Sorry, no rush—hey wait a minute!" Po's face lit up and they began the walk to their next set of chores. "You're afraid of intimacy!"

"What? I am not!" Tigress said defensively.

"You so are! You liked me long before this. It all makes perfect sense now. It all goes back to your childhood."

"Po!" She playfully warned.

"But," Po trailed off, "it's one of those things that makes you the bodaciously awesome Tigress."

"It's like you know me so well." she said dryly. Not that she would ever admit he was right, though...

* * *

Bleeerg! I hate writing endings. Why do there have to be endings? Can't I just stop when I feel like it? Anyway... when I watched this episode I didn't really ship Tipo. Then I had the idea for Po to have something in his mind that blatantly obviously said he liked Tigress. I was so interested in how they might react to that, even though it didn't turn out how I first thought. Now I look for more Tipo moments when I watch and ship the ship out of them. I have some more Tipo one-shot drafts I'm excited for. I own nothing. Reviews are quite welcome, and I thank you for reading my first Kung Fu Panda fic.


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